1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to beam scan velocity modulation (SVM) systems employed for picture sharpness enhancement and more particularly to an output current limiting, apparatus employed in an SVM system.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that an improvement in apparent picture resolution can be achieved by modulating the beam scan velocity in accordance with the derivative of the video signal which controls the beam intensity. This video signal is referred to as the luminance signal and the derivative of the luminance signal is employed for such control. An advantage of this method over a peaking approach to picture sharpness enhancement is the avoidance of blooming of peaked white picture elements.
It is known in the prior art to apply a differentiated video signal to the input of a double ended limiter incorporating a pair of threshold circuits. The limiter consists of two separate differential amplifiers, where each amplifier is separately biased to provide double ended limiting as well as to provide coring. The limiter arrangement develops a doubly clipped signal output which does not respond to excursions of the differentiated signal which lie below selected threshold magnitudes. Thus the gain of the limiter is such as to provide sharpness enhancement for slow transients while precluding excessive supplemental beam deflection with fast transients. The coring capability of the limiter arrangement significantly lessens the likelihood of noise visibility.
It may be desirable, however, to use a single differential amplifier stage, followed by another stage which will provide the coring function. In such an arrangement, it may be easier to design cost effective circuitry that still meets the requirements of a flat group delay response.
As indicated above, in order to provide beam scan velocity modulation, one differentiates the video signal. A differentiator has an increasing output with increasing frequency. Thus, if the input video signal has higher than normal high frequency components, then a linear system would deliver higher than normal output current and dissipate higher than normal power in the output stage. In such a prior art system, it is possible to overdissipate the output stages of the beam scan velocity modulation system by responding to a particular video signals with much high frequency content.
Circuits are known in the prior art which, in addition to providing signal limiting, reduce power dissipation in the output stages. In such circuits, the current flowing in the output power amplifier is detected to provide a control signal used to control the gain of a preamplifier in a preceding stage. This action suppresses the increase of power dissipation in the output power amplifier when a video signal of a certain frequency characteristic is received. No coring of the differentiated signal is provided, and hence there is exhibited inferior operation in the presence of noise. Furthermore, since the feedback reduces the signal gain as a function of output power, overall SVM operation is reduced, tending to produce a less pleasing visual effect.
Still other circuits are known which operate in a different manner to limit power dissipated in the SVM output stages. In these circuits parallel resistor capacitor combinations with long time constants are provided. These RC combinations are in series with emitter electrodes of transistors which are employed in the output power amplifiers of the SVM system. The transistors operate in a Class B mode with the top transistor conducting on one half cycle of its input waveform and with the bottom device conducting on the other half cycle.
Using this scheme, the bias of the base emitter junction becomes a function of the average amount of high frequency detail in the television image and thereby undesirably introduces more or less output stage coring of the signal depending upon the scene information. Furthermore, this approach requires relatively large magnitude, high voltage capacitors which are expensive and bulky.
As an example, the capacitors used may be 47 .mu.f in value and the resistors 20 ohms in value. The voltage requirements on the capacitors may be in excess of 150 volts. Hence, these capacitors are quite large, bulky and expensive.